US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the international community to work to prevent Iran from "creating new turmoil" after the end of the UN arms embargo on Tehran, while Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that if Iran's gains were not preserved In the nuclear agreement, the third step will be to reduce commitments.

At a UN Security Council meeting on the challenges of peace and security in the Middle East, Pompeo urged more cooperation in the region to come up with "new thinking to solve old problems," citing problems including the conflicts in Libya and Syria.

Pompeo made specific reference to Iran. Tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated since the Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions.

"Since the United States announced its intention to reduce Iranian oil purchases to zero in April, the clerics have begun a diplomatic blackmail campaign," Pompeo said.

"The international community will have a lot of time before Iran is free from restrictions to create new turmoil and decides what to do to prevent this from happening."

Zarif, in a speech to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in Sweden, said that if Iran's gains in the nuclear deal were not preserved, it would take the third step in reducing commitments.

"Although everything is clearly and transparently mentioned in the text of the nuclear treaty, the counterparty (US) is trying to blame the problems on us," he said in his speech discussing Iran's foreign policy, nuclear program and tension with the United States.

Zarif pointed out that the government headed by US President Donald Trump, has unilaterally violated international treaties, such as the nuclear deal. "The US administration is behaving as if 2016 was a revolution," he said.

He stressed that if Iran's gains were not preserved in the agreement, Tehran would take the third step in reducing its commitments, stressing that it would be "stronger than its predecessors."

Zarif pointed out that the worst-case scenario is confrontation. "If the confrontation breaks out, everyone will lose," he said. "The only difference is the degree and amount of loss, but everyone will lose."

The best scenario would be for European countries to act independently of the United States by fulfilling the obligations contained in the Convention.

On the situation in the Gulf, the Iranian minister pointed out that the US attempt to form an international coalition to establish navigation security in the Strait of Hormuz, will increase insecurity in the region.

Tehran's signaling of the third phase follows its announcement, in the first stage, of reducing its commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, before raising the level of uranium enrichment to a level prohibited by the deal, drawing widespread international condemnation.

Tehran has been urging European signatories to act to protect it from U.S. sanctions since Washington withdrew in May 2018.

With its withdrawal, Washington decided to impose economic sanctions on Iran and foreign companies with links to Tehran, prompting some companies, especially European to abandon their investments there.

In an effort to protect at least some sectors of the Iranian economy from comprehensive US sanctions and maintain the nuclear deal with Tehran, France, Britain and Germany established the special purpose mechanism known as INSTEX.

The three European countries are trying to get Iran to abide by its obligations under the deal to curb its nuclear program by helping it avoid US trade sanctions. It hopes the INSTEX mechanism will meet the funding criteria set by the Paris-based Financial Action Group.

Meanwhile, a semi-official Iranian news agency reported yesterday that the Iranian tanker, which recently sailed in the Mediterranean from the Strait of Gibraltar, is now leased to the Revolutionary Guards.

The tanker, released by the Gibraltar authorities a few days ago, is now leased to the Revolutionary Guards, the Elna news agency reported.

The Adrian Darya 1, known as Grace 1, left Gibraltar on August 18 after weeks of detention.

The United States has ordered the tanker to be detained on the basis of links to the Revolutionary Guards, which Washington classifies as a terrorist organization.

The tracking data showed that the ship was heading to the Greek port of Kalamata.

But a Greek shipping ministry spokesman said the vessel was sailing at a low speed and there was no official announcement yet that it would reach Kalamata.

On the same day, Pompeo said the United States would take all possible measures to prevent an Iranian tanker from delivering oil to Syria in violation of US sanctions.

The Iranian tanker, carrying the Panama flag, was detained last July in Gibraltar after being suspected of transporting oil to Syria in violation of European sanctions against the Damascus government.

Gibraltar authorities released the ship, which was being held off its coast after a five-week crisis, changed its name and raised an Iranian flag after flying the Panama flag.

Shortly after the detention order was overturned, a US federal court ordered her to be detained, but Gibraltar authorities refused to comply with a US request.

The United States says the arrest warrant comes because of its supposed links to the Revolutionary Guards, which Washington classifies as a terrorist organization.

This comes at a time when the Iranian news agency reported, yesterday, that an Iranian oil tanker disrupted in the Red Sea, but the crew is fine and reforms are underway.

"The ship's crew is working to repair the fault and the ship is in a stable condition in terms of safety," Akbar Jabal Ameli, technical director of Iran's state-run National Tanker Company, was quoted as saying. Fortunately the ship's crew is fine. ”

The report identified the tanker as' Helm. "The vessels of this name are among the ships, individuals and companies subject to US sanctions," according to the US Treasury's Web site.

Iran has a large fleet of tankers in the world, but has little choice to modernize its outdated tankers and keep its oil exports flowing, because of US sanctions.